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Weirding Word (SM) on Writers: Shelia Goss (Part 2)

Welcome back to the Weirding Word (SM) Blog and Part 2 of our interview with award-winning and bestselling author Shelia Goss. In Part 1, Shelia discussed her books and writing career. The second part of her interview features her thoughts on the writing process and the business of writing.

Shelia will also kick-off our Guest Blog series tomorrow, sharing her thoughts on writing and romance. Be sure to come back and visit during the week.

WW: What is the writing process for you? Do you write every day? Do you have a lot of writer's block?
SG: Well, the only time I have writers block is if there's a lot of stuff going on in my family. Like somebody'€™s sick or a death, and I have an emotional block where I cannot write because I'€™m trying to deal with that. Otherwise, if I do get writers block, it's more like procrastination. Because I'€™m checking e-mail, I'€™m checking everybody else'€™s blog, I'€™m reading everybody else'€™s books. Other than that, I don'€™t have writers block. I write every day unless I need to do some edits.

WW: How did you first get published?
SG: I actually started off self-published. A lot of people don'€™t even know this, but my first book was a collection of poems that I did called Embraced by Love: The Relationship. And, I put the book together through Kinko's, and I sold it to people that I worked with during the Valentine'€™s period because the poems were romantic poems. So, my first customers were people that I worked with, the guy at Kinko's...so that'€™s how I actually first got started.

I went to a lot of seminars, bought a couple of books, and decided, €"Oh, okay, well I'€™m going to go ahead and publish my first novel."€ And, I did that and it was successful. Thank God for that. That'€™s actually how I got my foot in the door. And, I got several people looking at me. From there, I got picked up by a traditional publisher.

WW: How long was that process?
Within two years. About two to three years. Three years at the most.

WW: So, that was really absolutely meant to be.
Yes, it was. And, I'€™m glad I had the experience because I got a chance to learn about the publishing business from the business end.

WW: Would you say that'€™s something that a lot of authors don'€™t get - especially self-published authors - €”is the business of publishing?
SG: Yeah, I think if you don'€™t do your research. With the Internet now, I don'€™t think there'€™s an excuse that you shouldn'€™t know. Because, fortunately, other authors do talk. If you don'€™t know, ask. If you have a specific question, just ask. Somebody will give you the answers. If that person can'€™t give it to you, then find someone else that you can trust to try to get the information you need. Or, you could go buy the books because they do have a lot of books at the stores.

But, I really think that it is very important that you do know about the business behind the scenes. After you sign the contract, what's next? It'€™s very important. Even the things that are on your contract. You need to be able to understand what are royalties. If you get your advance, a lot of authors don't know you don'€™t see a royalty until you pay that advance back. If you get a $25,000 advance and you only sold $10,000 worth of books, you still owe $15,000. You'€™re in the hole $15,000. It'€™s important that writers understand the nature of the contracts. And also, when it comes to the marketing. All of that is very important.

WW: What would you say is different about your writing from when you started the book, Double Platinum, to when you finished it? Did anything change about your writing or how you thought about writing? Or, was there a new surprising experience in that?
SG: I think it got better because, with each book, I get better and better. I'€™m more able to tap into the characters. I think the stories seem to flow the more and more I write. That'€™s my goal with every book. To continue to get better and better. And, in between, I have a blog and I use my blog from time to time to just keep on writing. Even though I may not be working on something, with my blog I'€™m writing something.

So, that'€™s the goal to always continue to get better and better. To always be able to show my characters' growth from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. And, just basically, to draw the readers in. I mean, they'€™re real to me so I want my readers to be able to feel like the characters are real. I want the plots to be...even though you may feel, "Oh, that'€™s so far fetched."...I still want it to be believable because I want to draw you into that world. And, I feel like with Double Platinum that I was able to do that.

WW: How would you say that your your writing evolved since My Invisible Husband to Double Platinum? What would you say are the biggest differences?
SG: The biggest difference is the fact that it doesn'€™t take me as long to write a book as it normally would. I'€™ve gotten to the point where I don'€™t even write a book unless I know the characters like the back of my hand. That'€™s one of the main ways I've evolved. It's basically knowing the characters like I know the back of my hand.

WW: So these characters are your best friends basically for the time you'€™re writing the book. You know everything about them.
SG: I know everything. Their quirks. I'€™m working on a book now...one of my characters, she loves Blow Pops®. And, I mention it throughout the book and it'€™s part of her personality. There's another character in another book, she loves flowers. If you want to stay on her good side, send her some flowers or e-mail her a little thing with some flowers on it. Every character has a little something about them that they like. Just like in real life. For me, my favorite drink is a Sprite®. So, most of my friends know that if I go to their house to offer me a Sprite®.

WW: How did publishing change your life? How did getting published change your life?
SG: Wow! The experience, it'€™s really hard to describe because this is something I'€™ve always wanted. You know, be careful what you ask for. It changed my life in a way that made it better because it actually showed me that you can have a dream and if you work towards it, it can become a reality. So, in that aspect, that'€™s how it changed my life. Because everything I achieved thus far, I'€™ve worked for. If you work hard enough, it can actually come true.

WW: Now, at Weirding Word (SM), we believe "€œlanguage creates reality"€. So, how does language create reality in your life and in your writing?
SG: I don'€™t know. It'€™s just always been a part of my reality.

WW: So, life imitates words?
SG: Well, none of my books are based on me or anybody I know. Let me put that out there because I always get that question. But, I observe a lot of people. I could be standing at Walmart and I just sit there and watch people. You know you just kind of pick up on different things if you just sit back and observe. Don'€™t always be the one to want to talk all the time. Just sit back and observe. Even with your family and friends. Observe. I'€™m a little shy, too, so that kind of helps. But, with me it'€™s just a part of life.

WW: Who do you like to read?
SG: Wow! Ooo, we'€™ll be here all day if I told you that.

WW: Okay. What are the five people that you like to read the most?
SG: Nora Roberts. I like the J.D. Robb series. ReShonda Tate Billingsley. Frances Ray. Jackie Collins, of course. When I wrote Roses are Thorns, Violets are True, I wanted it to be kind of like a Jackie Collins-type novel. I would say James Patterson. He'€™s another author I like to read. Terry McMillan. Ooo, the list goes on and on.

WW: In the romance genre, it sounds like you like to read a lot of the larger, thicker romances.
SG: I mention those because everyone pretty much knows who those particular authors are. But, I also read some that others may not know, but they may. I like Gwen Bolton. She'€™s one of my favorites. Michele Moncu. Michele McGrith. There'€™s so many. Who else? Linda Grovesner. Nonfiction, I like Carla Curtis. She writes a lot of nonfiction books. I like Joyce Meyer. I like Victoria Christopher Murray. She actually writes Christian fiction. Kendra Bellamy. She writes Christian fiction. Oh, man. It'€™s so many people. I hate to leave someone out.

WW: What do you think is next for you?
SG: I am venturing into several other genres. So, I'm hoping and praying that those work out for me. One, I'€™m writing under a pen name because it'€™s totally different than what I normally write. So, I want to keep it separate so that readers that are used to one style won'€™t feel that I'€™ve totally left them when they pick up this particular book. And also, with the other genres, I'€™ll be writing under Sheila Goss, but I might be writing under Sheila Marie Goss because right now I'm writing under Sheila M. Goss.

WW: What other genres are you going to be moving into?
SG: More into the suspense. Also, I guess more urban, as well as a teen series that I'm working on. Mystery and suspense, that'€™s one that I'm really, really excited about. I'm excited about the teen series as well, but I have a mystery series that I'm really excited about.

Remember to visit Weirding Word (SM) Blog this week to read and comment on Shelia Goss' guest blogs.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Interested in guest blogging? Please see the Weirding Word (SM) Blog Guide at www.weirdingword.com/PDF/WW_Blog_guide.pdf.”

Weirding Word (SM) on Writers: Shelia Goss (Part 1)

Weirding Word (SM) had a chance to talk with Shelia Goss, an award-winning author or women's fiction. In addition to writing books, she hosts the entertainment news site e-Spot and hosts her own blog. The former software trainer and contractor is a true believer in the adage, "Life is stranger than fiction." In fact, as you'll read in this interview, Shelia writes stories as good as what you'll see in real life.

New to the Weirding Word (SM) Blog is our Guest Blogging series, which Sheila kicks off tomorrow. She'll be sharing tips on writing and publishing, and on romance throughout the week. But, in the meantime, Shelia had so much to share that this interview is broken down into two parts. Learn why she is a bestselling Essence Magazine and award-winning romance author. I encourage you to learn more about her and return during the week to read and contribute.

WW: Tell us a little about who you are.
SG: Well, I am the author of several books. The first one is My Invisible Husband. Roses are Thorns,Violets are True is my second book. Paige’s Web is my third one. And my most recent one is Double Platinum, which was just released. Besides writing fiction, I also write articles on relationships and interview different entertainers in music, film, other authors. Those are the basic things that I pretty much do. They take up most of my day. And, besides being an author, I’m also and avid reader. So, I love to read as well.

WW: How did you get from doing a work-a-day job to writing full time?
SG: Well, when I really started doing it, it wasn’t by choice. I was working for one of the Fortune 500 companies and went through a re-org, and several people got laid off. I actually decided to take a voluntary separation package, which allowed me to be out for a year if I wanted to be without having to worry a about money and what have you. So, I took that time off and I used that time to actually write novels. And, in between, I found contract assisgments where I could work three or four months and make the same amount of money as if I’d worked the entire year. I took some time off and I used that time to write a couple of novels.

WW: So, that started off your writing career.
SG: That started my writing career. Writing was always something that I wanted to do, but I originally had planned on waiting until I retired. You know, at 55, 65, what have you. That was one of the things that propelled me to do it then. But also, I’d lost my dad and princess Diana had died, and I was just thinking that life is too short to wait. Just go ahead and start pursuing your dreams. So, while I was still working, I was writing at night, during my break, at lunchtime, etc. And then when opportunity came, it was just the right time to go ahead and put everything I had into it.

WW: How did you come to write Double Platinum?
SG: Double Platinum is kind of like just giving back. I love R&B music, I love Pop, I love culture. I just love music period. And so, Double Platinum, really I didn’t have to do any research on it because over the past couple of years I’ve had a chance to interview some of the entertainers in the music business. Singers, rappers, people behind the scenes. And, I used that as my background for my research in order to write the book.

The story is about an R&B singer, Paris Mitchell, and she was trying to make a comeback. I know in real life we hear about all these singers that things happen in their personal lives. And we always hear all of these negatives, but we never hear from them on the music scene. So, Paris is kind of like that in a way. She’s really just trying to make a comeback, and she ends up connecting with this producer who’s at the top of the charts, but he wants a new sound, getting away from what he normally does. So, Casper Johnson and Paris meet each other and things really ignite between the two. And, between the groupies and the paparazzi, things kind of get out of control. But I think readers will really like it. If you like music and you like romance, then Double Platinum is really for you.

WW: How would you describe your books and the kind of stories that you like to write?
SG: I don’t know if I would describe them as romance or chick lit or women’s fiction. It’s really hard to put them in one particular category. I would say just women’s fiction. If you like romance or chick lit or if you like women’s fiction, then you could pick up any one of my books.

Well, My Invisible Husband for example. It’s about a 34-year-old woman who is tired of people asking her, “When are you getting married?” So, what does she go out and do? She goes out and fakes a Las Vegas wedding. And that story has a lot of dramatic points, but it’s also kind of comical as well because you’re wondering, “How is she going to get out of this mess?” How can you fake a wedding? You have to come home. You know, “Where’s the husband?”

In Roses are Thorns, Violets are True, it’s about twin sisters. It’s more about building relationships with family. And, in this case, there’s some sibling rivalry going on between the twins. In Paige’s Web I tackle the subject of a woman who’s afraid of commitment. Normally, it’s the men who are always running from commitment. But Paige, she’s a little afraid of it. She ends up getting engaged to not only just one man, but three men at the same time.

And, I was watching Another 48 Hours this past weekend on CBS. There was a murder mystery case that they were working on that started in Alaska. And, there was a woman who actually ended up getting engaged to three men at the same time. Now, this was a true story. Unfortunately, one of the men that she was engaged to ended up getting killed. I threw this in there because sometimes people say, “Oh, this is kind of far fetched.” In my mind, I thought I was being unique, but then somebody actually did it and I was amazed watching 48 Hours over the weekend.

WW: You’ve been writing your whole life—since you were in school. What would you say is different about your writing now then when you were in school.
SG: When I was in school, I guess it was kind of like a popcorn kind of writing. I loved poetry and it was talking about things you did in school. When I was in high school it was about boys in school. Now I try to tackle everyday issues that women face and put it in a fiction form. And, I try to do it in an entertaining way.

Like I said, when you’re over 30 and not married, the pressure is on. People will be asking you, “When are you getting married?! When are you getting married?!” So, I took that concept and I tried to make it entertaining. And also, as far as men are always the ones who seem to be running from commitment, there are a lot of single women who aren’t in a rush to get married either. So, that’s why I tackled that particular issue.

And, then with Double Platinum, the main thing is I’m just trying to give back and show my love for music in that particular book. And, I also wanted to show that even though these people are celebrities, and they’re always in our face because of the paparazzi, they’re like us. They’re everyday people just like we are. They deal with the same issues that we deal with except theirs is more out in the public.

See Part 2 of this two-part interview and be sure to look for Shelia's guest blogs the week of March 23.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Interested in guest blogging? Please see the Weirding Word (SM) Blog Guide at www.weirdingword.com/PDF/WW_Blog_guide.pdf.”

Weirding Word (SM) On Writers: James S. Wright

An avid student of American and African American history, James S. Wright began the American Apartheid Series with American Apartheid in which he discusses the unfair and brutal treatment of Native Americans and Africans in the US. In his second book, No Land, No Mule, No Freedom: American Apartheid: The Saga Continues, he discusses the social, political, and economic dangers that African Americans still don’t understand today.  In his interview with Weirding Word (SM), James talks about his passion for history and what inspired him to write about the histories of African Americans and Native Americans.

WW: Tell me about the series.
JSW: It started with American Apartheid, the title of which was inspired by the experiences of Native Americans, being the victims of apartheid in America.  Native Americans’ lands and rights were taken from them by the Europeans when they “discovered” the country.  For me, apartheid had been associated with South Africa in the late 40s, but apartheid started in America when Columbus got off the boat.  It had more relevance for me because it was in this country.  And, it inspired me to write history from the perspective of someone other than a European.

WW: How did you come to write American Apartheid?
JSW: The fact that I had a great great grandmother who was a full-blooded Cherokee led me to the history.  But, growing up as an African American I really wasn’t associated with the feeling of being Native American. African Americans have suffered experiences similar to those of Native Americans.  As I conducted my research, I found that history always came from the perspective of white people.  When I was in elementary school, high school and college, it was from this perspective.  And I thought, let me write some history from the perspective of my people - from the perspective of African Americans. 

I spoke to my grandparents and others.  History is really “as told to.”  There’s not a lot of documentation out there about these aspects of history - of slaves and Native Americans.  Frederick Douglas was a slave.  Nat Turner was a slave.  But the field hand was not educated.  From his perspective, from her perspective, there was very little passed on.  For instance, the middle passage.   The stories about the voyages to this continent were passed on from the captains and crews through their logs.  There is a book called The Middle Passage that was allegedly written by an African American, but as you research it, the book’s “as told to” a ship captain.

So, we don’t have a lot of written history.  That’s why my books are written from an opinionated perspective of history, but I can’t change the facts.  I always go back to slavery because slavery is the beginning of African American history in this country.  Then, I go forward with different viewpoints and try to bring it up to current issues.  So, in American Apartheid, in No Land, No Mule, No Freedom and in the upcoming third book, I focus on different topics that affect African Americans.  I try to explain the reasons why we still have some dysfunctional issues that stem from slavery.  For instance, our lack of trust of one another.  The divide and conquer.

WW: Talk about the divide and conquer mentality more.
JSW: Well, it’s not something that I invented or discovered.  During slavery, there was a field hand mentality and a house slave mentality.  The field hands were the lower order, and the house slaves took care of the master’s family and lived closer to the main mansion rather than live in the dirt of the slave quarters.  And that mentality was maintained throughout slavery.  The house slaves thought they were far better than the field hands.  Many of them were taught how to read and write so they could serve better.  They were taught to play instruments.  They were dressed in fine clothes.  Often the house slaves would alert the masters to things going on in the field.  The house slaves felt like a part of the master’s family - “That’s my missy,” or “That’s my so-and-so” - and they accepted this and never really felt oppressed.

WW: And so, you’re saying that they were kept separate to…
JSW: And it goes on through the years.  Where you have the lighter skinned blacks feeling more superior.  It’s gone on through generations and it needs to stop.  It’s only happened because white slave owners rapped our women.  We shouldn’t glorify this situation because it was rape.  You didn’t get this in high school or elementary school.  They glorify these relationships as romantic - like with Thomas Jefferson - but these women had no choice.  They would be killed.  It was rape.

I’ll never forget Sydney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night (1967) when he slapped the plantation owner.  The owner said “negra” as though we were dirty and we needed to be cared for and can’t take care of ourselves.  That’s the way most historians approach writing about us - as though we can’t take care of ourselves.

It’s part of what keeps me writing.  Our children need to know, and white people need to know, that they took away our freedom.  It’s what we, as Americans came here for and they took it away.  The only reason they put blacks in slavery is race.  Nothing else.  We obtained freedom after the Civil War, but we’re still fighting that battle.  We’re still not equal.

WW: How did you get published?
JSW: My first book was just a series of events.  I met a gentleman who shared my interest in writing and introduced me to another gentleman, who helped me publish my book.  The second book I published myself.

WW: Why did you choose to self-publish?
JSW: I sent queries to major publishers, but without…this is a difficult business.  There are over a million books published each year.  It’s very difficult to get into the publishing industry unless you have name recognition or are lucky.  You have to have a hook and I haven’t found that hook.  And I’m lucky.  Both of my books are in the black.  I’ve made three times over the investment in the first, and have doubled my money on the second.  Hopefully, in my retirement, I can spend more time promoting the first two.  For the third book, I’m soliciting an agent, but will self-publish if I need to.  Hopefully, as a result of this interview, more people will become interested in James Wright and what he is about and you never know.  You never know what the public’s going to be attracted to because they’re very fickle.

WW: What’s changed the most about your writing?
JSW: I’m more descriptive.  More in tune with my audience.  I had a college professor at Morgan [State University] tell me that with my first book, I was trying to reach a broad audience.  And, she advised me that I was making a mistake.  I have a certain audience who is going to be most interested and I need to concentrate on speaking to that small audience.  She was right.  I’ve been more successful concentrating on that smaller audience and meeting people who are really interested in what I have to say.

WW: At Weirding Word (SM), we believe that “language creates reality.”  How does language create reality in your life?  In your writing?
JSW: Well, I make a statement that “knowledge is power and education is the key to knowledge”.  And the written word is the background for all of that.

WW: How do you balance a day job with producing and promoting your book?
JSW: Believe me, it is very difficult.  That’s why I’m looking forward to retirement.  I could not jeopardize the lifestyle that my wife and my son have become accustomed to by becoming a full-time writer and allowing that to pay the bills.  My day job takes care of that lifestyle.  Unfortunately the books suffer.  My family and extended family, church and community receive the most attention.  My job the second.  And the books come third.

Hopefully, in the future, my books will be my job.  I’ll be able to travel.  I’ll be able to be more available to my readers.  I can go across the country delivering my message to other venues.

WW: What would you say is the idea you want people to take away?
JSW: History needs to be taught in more than one color and from more than one perspective.  We need to know our history because history is destined to repeat itself and we need to be prepared.

Learn more about James S. Wright and the American Apartheid Series, and purchase copies of the books, on his website.

Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, helps you communicate your ideas and information more effectively through tailored editing, freelance writing, publication and web design services.

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